What is the purpose of the Windows 10 USB Recovery Drive? In plain English, a Windows 10 recovery disk is a bootable disk that contains Windows recovery options, allowing you to troubleshoot system errors and even reinstall Windows 10 from the beginning.
Microsoft added a new feature to Windows 8 that allows you to create a recovery drive using a USB drive. We all use it as a primary option for creating a recovery drive because of its portability. If you don’t have a USB flash drive, you can make a recovery disk out of CDs or DVDs.
You can boot into Windows 10 and troubleshoot or repair from advanced startup options once you’ve created a recovery disk before disaster strikes. To put it another way, creating a recovery drive allows you to boot from a USB drive and access Windows 10’s advanced startup options. By booting with the recovery disk, you can troubleshoot issues and even recover and reinstall Windows 10. As a result, after installing a fresh copy of Windows 10, it’s a good idea to create a recovery drive.
Related: How to use Windows Sandbox
Create a Windows 10 USB Recovery Drive
Making a Windows 10 Recovery Drive is similar to making one for Windows 8.1. To create a Windows 10 USB recovery drive, you’ll need at least a 16 GB USB flash drive.
- To do so, press the Windows 10 Start button and type the following: Recovery Drive
- To open it, click “Recovery Drive” or “Create a recovery drive” in the search results.
- If User Account Control prompts you, select Yes.
- Check the box next to “Back up system files to the recovery drive,” then click Next.
- The Recovery Drive tool will now search your computer for USB drives. If you haven’t already done so, connect the USB drive to your computer.
- Click the Next button after selecting the USB drive you want to use.
- A warning message will appear on the next screen, stating that “Everything on the drive will be deleted.” Make sure you’ve backed up any personal files you might have on this drive.” Select “Create” from the drop-down menu.
- Windows 10 will now erase the contents of the flash drive and begin copying the files.
Note that the entire contents of the drive will be erased during this procedure.
Keep an eye on the progress bar until it reaches the end. Depending on the speed of your flash drive, this could take a few minutes. - Click the Finish button when you see “The recovery drive is ready” on the screen.
You can remove your USB drive from your PC now.
Booting from Recovery Drive and Reinstall Windows 10
If you ever have a problem booting into your Windows 10 machine, connect the Recovery USB drive to your computer and boot from it. Depending on the model and make of the computer, the methods for booting from a thumb drive may differ. For instructions on booting from external media, consult your computer’s documentation, or press ESC, F2, F9, F10, F11, or DEL on the keyboard to enter the BIOS and change boot options.
- Click Troubleshoot.
- Click Recover from a drive.
- Follow the on-screen instructions and wait till Windows 10 is reinstalled on your computer.
